Black Diamond
by myDiamondOTL
Summary: Pink Diamond. Dictator, Gem Royalty, head of the Earth colony... and a casualty of its rebellion. But also an inspiration. Not only to her court, the countless Gems serving under her. But also to a lone hunter, a nobody who found in her smile the courage to do something that would change his life forever. (Note: Rose is NOT Pink Diamond in this AU, Pink inspired by Jungle Moon ep)


Hello, it's me.

Who is _me_ you might ask?

Well, my name isn't important. I don't keep it, after all. Call me Black.

What do I look like? Well, I can tell you what I _used_ to look like. I was an athletic young man with black, shoulder length hair, dark eyes and an oriental complexion. At least, what _will_ be called an oriental complexion.

Yeah, _will_ be. The beginning of this story takes place a good while before the so called _modern_ age. But don't worry, we'll catch up to you modern people later.

So, anyway, my story starts out a good few millennia before you lot ever set foot on this planet. I was a simple hunter. But when I say simple, I obviously mean the most totally awesome hunter you'll ever see.

In case you haven't guessed by my lingo, I'm not a prehistoric hunter anymore, but I digress…

Back to the story. So, I left my clan behind and ventured out by myself. I really didn't get along with my chief, and no one there really _needed_ another hunter, so I set off on my own. I lived off the land, surviving on my wits and spear skills. It was fierce, it was primal, it was… well, it kinda sucked. Being a lone wolf is not all it's cracked up to be.

But, that was when the goddess descended.

Backing up a little. Over the course of my travels, I had managed to trek my way from present day northern China down to what would eventually be South Korea. Why did I do that? Why not. I really had no aim, and no clue I was quickly approaching the dead end that is a peninsula. But I was glad I came, because that was where I first saw _her_.

As I was stalking my latest soon-to-be-lunch, there was a roar and a bright light from the sky. The walking steak I was tailing hightailed it for the brush, leaving me standing dumbly and wondering how an entire thunderstorm snuck up on me. Then… I looked up.

There was… something descending from the sky. It was pink as the flowers growing in the field and shaped like a massive… well, I learned later it was a palanquin, but right then, all I could think of calling it was 'big pink hut'.

As huts don't normally fly — at least, not that I've heard — I decided that it might be a good idea to hide. I ducked into the same bushes that claimed my lunch and peeked out at the strange object. The hut sprouted four legs as it landed, becoming so stationary that I could almost think that it had always been there. But then, the curtains quivered, and _she_ came out.

The first thing that I noticed about her was that she was pink. Like, _completely_ pink. Her skin was a lighter shade of pink, and her hair was pale pink. Her clothes were a mixture of darker pink for the gloves and midriff baring leotard, while the puffy short sleeves and tutu-like skirt were both a light pink. In the center of her bare midriff was a large pink crystal. That seemed like a bit of an excessive fashion statement. Okay, her tights were white, and the weird ball things that topped her pink slippers, but that's not enough to fix it.

The first thing this strange pink woman did upon jumping down to the ground was to begin tearing about like a hyperactive rabbit. She felt the need to touch everything, grab anything that caught her eye, grinning like a maniac all the while. Naturally, this brat rather shattered the 'goddess' image I had of her at first, but seeing her enjoying herself like that actually made me forget my lost lunch and the massive hut crashing from the sky. She seemed… so triumphant, yet inquisitive, as if she felt a strong desire to touch and see everything, but had the firm belief that everything she touched was hers and hers alone.

It felt like hours that I was squatting in the bushes, watching her. Probably because it was.

More roaring from the sky commenced. There was no way I'd be getting used to that anytime soon. Pretty soon, more colorful women descended from what modern geeks and geekettes would call 'flying saucers'. There were a large amount of pink ones though. I guess it's just her thing.

Pink girl threw a mild temper tantrum when the newcomers found her. She probably ran away, like me. Only, not quite far enough. I couldn't quite hear what they were saying. Eventually, they managed to escort the bratty goddess back to her hut, shipping the lot of them back into the sky. Coming out of my bushes, lunch long forgotten, I stood there and watched them leave.

Unwilling to leave the area, I hung around there for the next few weeks or so. I somehow managed to track down my lunch, and quite a few more lunches afterwards. All the while, I kept telling myself in my mind, 'hey, don't you think it's time to keep moving?'

But I didn't. Somehow, for some reason, I just couldn't get that pink girl out of my mind. She seemed like a real piece of work, but she really stuck in my head. I kept thinking, 'she might come back.' I hoped she would come back, but I didn't think…

She came back. Not only that, it looked like she snuck out again. This time, she took to running through the forest, chopping down trees with two glowing swords. Not the most constructive activity, but hey, more firewood for me. Maybe even enough to build a wooden hut. The whole time, her face showed a wild exhilaration, her pink eyes glittering with excitement and her pink lips fixed in a joyful grin. I lost track of time watching her… that is, until she almost took my head off. At that point, I found a _safer_ vantage point and lost track of more time watching her.

Pink visited several times over the course of the year and a half I stayed here. Yeah, Pink. Not just from her color, though. I managed to get close enough to overhear the conversations of the ladies who come to pick her up every time she bolts. The pink girl is named Pink Diamond. Incidentally, I couldn't understand a word of what they were saying at first, but somehow it seemed to grow clearer over time. Anyway, it seems Pink is the leader of some sort of tribe of colorful ladies, with her title being 'my Diamond'. And the colorful ladies seem to be called 'Gems.' The crystals that they all wear as accessories are apparently actually their hearts. Go figure. Anyway, they kept mentioning a war or rebellion of some kind, and their enemies are a tribe called the 'Crystal Gems'. Not the most threatening name, but who am I to judge?

The more I watched Pink, the more I felt that, although she was the leader, she was hopelessly inexperienced and inept. Her excursions to what I began thinking of as 'our flower field' were her little ways of shirking work and blowing off steam. Also, although she had a general disregard for most plants (evidenced by her mass deforestation), she did like the sweet smelling pink flowers that grew all over the field. I learned later they were called 'rose mallows,' but I just called them 'pink flowers' at the time. Pink could sit for hours just looking at them or smelling them, well, between her wild romps. As I hid and watched her, I could see every change in her emotions playing across her face. Excitement, exhilaration, peace, bliss, and many more. It was really a beautiful sight. Too bad she's an immature brat.

She returned again. That girl really needs to catch up with her Diamond-y leader responsibilities. As I watched her frolicking among the flowers, I debated trying to speak with her. Yeah, like _that_ would happen. I can't even speak with _regular_ women, let alone ultra powerful goddesses.

A new face showed to pick her up. Damn, that yellow and orange striped woman was _buff_! She had an orange gem in the place where her nose should be. Guess she won't be taking some time to smell the flowers. Jasper's the name? Not my type, I think I'll steer clear.

It had been two years now. I had made myself a nice little hut which kept the weather off my back, looking forward to my infrequent privilege of seeing my bratty goddess frolicking in the flowers. Or the snow, since she was fond of that as well. At least _one_ of us like the freezing mush.

But she hadn't shown in three moons. Quite a while, since she usually can only last a maximum of two before running off to play. Still, I waited. At this point, any idea of leaving had been firmly banished from my mind. I had no goals before other than survival. Now I had one: waiting for her. Watching her. Admiring her. And laughing at her whenever she did something childish, which was often.

But she didn't come for a while. When the fourth moon rolled around, I realized I needed to hunt. I couldn't keep my schedule clear indefinitely, after all, especially since I was running out of jerky and roots. Mmmm, food of the gods. Sarcastic praise is sarcastic.

Anyway, I decided to set out on a hunting trip, hoping that Pink wouldn't beat me back to the flower field. The hunt went well, for once, with no random predators or loud noises to frighten off my dinner. But then, it happened. The sound of Pink's not-so-quiet landing! Of course, when I was half a day's journey from the field. Figures.

I began journeying back as quickly as possible, my dinner, frankly, rather forgotten. I began anticipating another calm and fun day of watching Pink's frolicking, if only I could get back in time. But when I was still a ways away… I heard something odd. A clash, a crash, some sort of… shattering sound.

Picking up my pace, I arrived at the edge of the clearing only to find… Pink's flying hut. Just sitting there. No… not sitting there normally. It was broken. Damaged. Half tilted over. Something bad happened.

My heart thumping in my chest, I steeled my nerves and ran over to it. Maybe she was in trouble! Maybe I could help! I pushed back the curtain and looked inside…

Huh? Empty?

No… Not empty. The sinking feeling in my chest dropped through my feet, carving a dark abyss of despair. What I saw inside… was the shattered shards of Pink's gem. Her heart. Herself.

"Pink?"

My voice quavered as I called her name, seeking some sort of answer from the unresponsive shards. Nothing. They were just lying there. Cold. Still.

Dead.

Dead? How could that goddess be dead? She was so lively, full of joy and passion and wildness! How could one so full of life as her…?

No, there had to be a way, some way I could save her! Please, something, _anything_ that can bring back that lively flushed face, those glittering pink eyes, that soft cottony hair… I can't accept this!

I heard the sounds of descending vessels. I needed to act immediately. To keep her safe. Who knows which of them did this? There's no way I'd be giving her up!

I gathered up her shards, carefully holding them to my chest, and ran from the hut. I ran as fast as I could, even as I heard heavy footsteps and shouts of panic and disbelief from the field I left behind. Someone screamed, 'My Diamond!' It sounded like Jasper.

I couldn't know who to trust. I couldn't let Pink fall into the wrong hands. They would definitely search the area. I couldn't escape far enough. They'll find her. They'll take her from me.

No!

No they won't! Working quickly, I arranged the shards of her gem back into the sparkling whole they had been when I first saw her. Then, bracing myself, I cut open a slit in my abdomen. Blood began to flow, but I gritted my teeth against the pain. I slid her gem into the slit, careful to keep the shards together. Then, with sinew and the bone needle I use to patch my clothes, I stitched my gash shut, pulling my shirt back down. There. Now I have her, and no one will take her from me.

I hid in the shadow of a tree as the gems rushed about, either searching for the killers or just lost, unsure of what to do. They felt her shatter, the 'Diamond' they served. They felt hopeless, alone, abandoned, empty. I saw Jasper, the strong and powerful soldier, crying silent tears as she swore vengeance.

I sat there for the rest of the day, and much of the next. A few gems saw me, but they only gave me a passing glance, like a pebble on the side of the trail, before continuing on. On the second day of sitting, doing nothing but watch them and think of Pink, I finally willed myself to move. Little by little, I dragged myself to my cabin. It was ransacked in the search, but the roof was still intact. I grabbed for a jug of water to wash the blood from my stomach, absentmindedly wiping at the stitches on my self-inflicted wound.

I should probably eat.

Thinking that, I reached for my stores, only to remember that I had already finished them off. Not only that, but I left my catch behind in my wild dash to see Pink. Bemoaning my fate, I prepared myself for a night of hunger. Only…

I didn't feel hungry.

Not only that, but I didn't feel thirsty either. Upon realizing I was holding my breath in surprise, I began to realize that even breathing wasn't a necessity. What's going on?

Somehow more intrigued then panicked, I began investigating the strange new condition of my body. Despite sitting for two days without eating or drinking, even after a long stint with limited food, I felt no illness or discomfort. In fact, I felt stronger than ever before. Something was different. Something warm. Something inside me.

As I pondered this, my fingers traced across the wound on my stomach. This was the source of that warmth. _She_ was the source of my warmth, my strength. I could just feel it. As I played my fingertips over the stitches holding her inside me, I felt the tip of something hard. Something warm. Something that felt like her, but it wasn't her. It was me. I looked down at the small, budding black stone emerging from my navel.

Now it begins. My story. Her story. Our story.

My name… is Black Diamond.


End file.
